Liquid Ejection System Vertical Storage Footprint Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid ejection systems, such as inkjet printers, face challenges in minimizing their size due to the increased volume of liquid storage containers, which leads to a larger footprint and projected area.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a liquid ejection system with a mechanism unit and a liquid storage container where the liquid storage portion is oriented such that it overlaps with the mechanism unit, and an air introduction portion is integrated to minimize the projected area, with the air introduction portion's volume being equivalent to or greater than the liquid storage portion, allowing for efficient storage and separation to prevent leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the volume of the liquid storage container increases to store more liquid, then the liquid supply capacity is improved, but the projected area (footprint) of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid storage container is configured to extend in the vertical direction (upward) rather than only in the horizontal plane. The container includes a liquid storage portion that stores liquid and an air introduction portion that introduces air into the liquid storage portion, with the air introduction portion having a volume equivalent to or greater than the liquid storage portion. This vertical stacking allows increased liquid storage capacity while maintaining a compact projected area footprint.
2Area of stationary object
If the liquid storage container is positioned to minimize projected area by overlapping with the mechanism unit, then the footprint is reduced, but the liquid injection portion accessibility may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid storage container is designed with differentiated functional portions: a liquid storage portion for storing liquid and an air introduction portion for introducing air. The air introduction portion is positioned to overlap with the mechanism unit in plan view to minimize footprint, while the liquid injection portion is positioned to be accessible from the outside. This local differentiation of functions and positions resolves the contradiction between compact footprint and operational accessibility.
3Reliability
If the air introduction portion volume is increased to store excess liquid and prevent leakage, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The air introduction portion serves multiple functions: (1) introducing air into the liquid storage portion to enable liquid ejection, (2) storing excess liquid to prevent leakage, and (3) being positioned to overlap with the mechanism unit to minimize footprint. By making this single component multi-functional, the invention improves reliability through excess liquid storage while avoiding increased device complexity that would result from adding separate components for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejection system of this invention includes a mechanism unit that can change the relative position of a medium relative to a liquid ejection head capable of ejecting a liquid, and a liquid storage container having a liquid storage portion capable of storing the liquid that is to be supplied to the liquid ejection head. A liquid injection portion that enables injection of the liquid into the liquid storage portion is provided in the liquid storage container. In an orientation in which the liquid injection portion faces a direction upward relative to the horizontal direction, in a plan view of the mechanism unit from vertically above, at least a portion of the liquid storage container excluding the liquid injection portion is overlapped with the region of the mechanism unit.